A brief neuropsychological screening test battery for cognitive dysfunction in Brazilian multiple sclerosis patients.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE The cognitive profile of patients with Multiple Sclerosis in the Brazilian population is relatively unknown and no cognitive screening instruments have been developed for this population. The purpose of the present study was to develop a neuropsychological screening instrument battery to identify cognitive impairment in epidemiological research protocols in this country. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Fifty-four patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) and 54 controls matched by sex, age and educational level were evaluated through a long and comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS In comparison to the control group, 51.8% of the patients with RRMS presented some form of cognitive impairment. Three neuropsychological tests - Verbal Fluency, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning and Enhanced Cued Recall - presented an 80.6% sensitivity and 97.2% specificity in differentiating RRMS patients with cognitive deficits from paired control subjects. CONCLUSIONS These three tests constitute a Brief Battery that represents a first Brazilian MS cognitive screening instrument. However, further validation study is necessary to achieve better normative scores in a larger sample and to establish feasibility of this battery.